How to Balance Being a Work-At-Home Parent

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For parents there are some great advantages to being able to work from home. Freedom in your schedule, being able to spend time with your children and saving money are the top reasons why so many people are choosing to set up an office in their own homes.

Besides the benefits of no more commuting or expensive daycare, working from home can have its own challenges. Being able to hit a healthy and productive timetable can be a challenge for busy moms and dads.

When you stay home, the focus tends to always be directed towards the kids, and it is important to set boundaries and schedules for yourself if you want to be able to get any work done. Parents who are enjoying this lifestyle say that it is all about setting up a timetable for your day and establishing good routines with the kids and your work.

Take a look at some tips from other work-at-home parents that can help get you started with success.

Keep It Structured

Your daily schedule is what will make or break your home. Kids tend to respond well to a daily schedule, giving them a regular routine to follow. Make your to-do lists daily and focus on what your work needs are during the day. Try to integrate the kids’ schedule into your work schedule so that you can use the downtime or nap times to get some tasks done.

It is important to schedule enough one-on-one time with your kids. They want to feel included and need your attention to themselves at points through the day. Making a monthly schedule calendar is helpful in laying out your plans in advance.

Be Prepared for Emergencies

Accidents are inevitable especially if you have kids running around. This can break your routine if you are not prepared.

It is important that you keep numbers of hospitals and dentists that you can call, any time of the day. Emergency Dentists USA is a reliable site if you are looking for dentists that are available 24/7.

Set Up Your Office

Wherever you find the space in your home, whether it be an extra bedroom, a basement or a kitchen nook, it is important to delegate a space that is just for your work. Having work items spread throughout the house will not allow you to be the most productive.

Pick a space that is quiet and has some privacy while still being accessible to the children. Keep your area as organized as possible. There will be many unexpected breaks in your day when your children need your attention, so keeping things in order will help you get refocused on your tasks.

Use all the resources that your business has to offer to keep yourself organized. If you are running a website, there are many online tools to help you schedule your marketing in advance. You may want to consider hiring a digital marketing service to help you organize your campaigns and automate your schedule for you to save a ton of time.

Find Your Rhythm

Every household works on its own natural schedule. Pay attention to when you have up and down times in your house. Make note of when you are the most productive, when the nap times are, and when you need quiet for business calls. It will become easier to set up a daily schedule if you know when the best work times for you may be.

Be careful to not overplan. Not only can this lead to missed deadlines or feeling overwhelmed, it doesn’t benefit anyone to start feeling stressed. Schedule larger projects in advance to leave you lots of room for moving things around if necessary.

2 Comments

Barbara
on December 11, 2018 at 12:20 am

Good tips. It is hard sometimes to work with children around. I find the best time for me is while they are working on a project I set up the night before. It has to be something that will hold their attention.